>> i have no words that make the pain of what happened today easy to bear. i'm heartbroken, as i know all of you are. nothing more hurtful or tragic than the loss of innocence, but no more so when those lost are young children. i'm heartbroken. >> people's children, brothers and sisters, were taken from them. people's spouses. those teachers and administrators were taken from us. >> i have to commend all of the first responders, both state and local, and certainly the staff of the school. they were there for those children, which is what teachers are all about. and it was most obvious today, most obvious today, what they really are about as teachers. to all of them, i say thanks on behalf of all of us. >> and that does it for us. thank you for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts now.

breaking news, massacre in newtown, connecticut. i'm ashleigh banfield in for erin burnett. this just in. listen. >> 6-7 muc. sandy hook school. caller thinks someone is shooting in the building. front glass is broken, unsure why. all units, the individual that i have on the phone is continuing to hear what he believes to be gunfire. units responding sandy hook school at this time, the shooting appears to have stopped. the school is in lockdown. >> that broken glass is the result of the gunman reportedly shooting his way into the school. the unthinkable tragedy has left this very small new england town shattered tonight.

28 people dead. that's including the shooter himself. most of those killed were students at the school. very, very young students. there were 20 children killed. between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. there were also 6 adults shot dead after a heavily armed gunman dressed in black fatigues and a military vest opened fire in the school. >> we just told a little boy about his sister now and just to see him, he said who am i going to play with? i have nobody to play with now. excuse me. >> the gunman, 20-year-old adam lanza, also died at the scene, from a self-inflicted wound, his mother, nancy lanza found dead at the family home here in newtown as well. she ha had been a teacher at the sandy hook elementary school. the school's principal, dawn

hochsprung among those killed. and a friend remembers her tonight as the kind of person you want educating your kids. and the gunman's older brother, ryan lanza, taken in for questioning by police in hoboken in new jersey and handcuffed. officials did not label him a suspect. the gunman's father also questioned in relation to what happened here today, and tonight, a nation in mourning. candle-light vigils held in newtown and across the country. also one just outside the without in washington, d.c. earlier today, president obama ordered flags half staff nationwide for the victims of the tragedy. in an emotional address, he said this to the nation. >> i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the

same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. they had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings. kids of their own. >> an extraordinarily emotional president obama earlier today. obviously, so many questions that are emerging after what happened today. a virtual massacre of little, tinny children, and the weapons that were used, nothing short of terrifying. susan candiotti following this today. three different weapons found in different places, very dangerous

weapons. >> two weapons found on the shooters himself, in the classroom, where he was found dead. one of them is a glock, and the other is a sig sauer, both handguns, a third weapon found in a car, a vehicle, may have been his, outside the school. >> is that the school been parked so erratically, roped off with the crime tape? >> exactly. closely examining that car. the third weapon a semi automatic known as a bushmaster .223. all of the weapons belonged to his mother. a mother, school teacher at the school and they were registered in the state of connecticut as well. trying to piece all of this together, why did they have those guns. how did he get them? >> just one area i know will be a huge topic of conversation for days and months to come. another big question for so many. the names of these children. there are 20 children who died.

six adults who died in the school. nancy, the mother who died in her residence. when will be find ow the othe o identity of victims? >> tomorrow morning. they expect to release the identities. they have been working very diligently to check, double check, and triple check they have all of the right people and that everyone, members of the family have been notified. expect to hear that in the morning. >> so sad to see by exclusion they have made the identities obvious by those who were not reunited with the children. positive i.d.s, forensic project that we will be working throughout the night, where the children's bodies still lay. >> absolutely. >> susan candiotti, thank you, we appreciate it. >> you bet. >> and drew griffin working on as much information we can find on the shooter, adam lanza.

what have you found out? >> actually, this is playing out in almost a sickening routine. a possible mental health issue, the family trying to deal with the mental healthish eaus. something snaps, guns easily accessible and the shooting happens. here is what we know. the 20-year-old shooter had an older brother. that brother reportedly told abc news that the shooter, his brother, had a personality disorder. he also mentioned his brother had autism or was autistic. cnn heard that same information from a man who called himself a friend in newtown where the shooter lived. already, we're seeing a kind of base for some mental health questions being raised, ashleigh. >> drew, just quickly. what about warning signs. anybody talking about warning signs? >> not yet. i fully expect we will see that

and more detail on that. right now, also somewhat standard in these cases, ashley, you will find people shocked that this particular person could have been involved in anything like this. listen to what we heard in there a former classmate and school bus driver who knew the 20-year-old. >> he was just a kid. >> just a kid? >> just a kid. >> never anti social? >> no. adam has got a -- no. >> trouble maker? >> no, definitely not. >> noticeable? just kind of blend into the background? >> yeah. nothing that would warrant any of this. >> they are saying he went after his mom and her class of kids. can you wrap your head around that? >> no, i cannot. i don't know who would do anything like this. >> so your general sense is what? >> this is -- this is unspeakable. when i first heard about it --

i'm still in shock. excuse me a moment. i need to go. >> a nice kid. very politely. she raised very nice boys, to me. that's why i think it's a shock. to even know them and realize who they are and what he did. you cannot understand what happened, that he snapped, what have you, and took such innocent lives. >> ashleigh, i'm convinced in the coming days, maybe even tomorrow, we'll begin hearing there were warning signs, that there were mental health issues, there was a family that didn't know how to handle the situation or where to turn, we have seen it at the shooting at virginia tech, gaby giffords, aurora, colorado, movie theater. i'm sure we'll see that. what we will not see, really, for the families, is any kind of

explanation that will make sense of this. because right now, it's senseless. >> and just so unbearably difficult to did i jugest, espe here on the scene. without question, something must have been terribly wrong. thank you so much. one name you will likely be hearing more of, her name is kaitlin roig. she is being hailed as a hero. she spoke with diane sawyer on "world news tonight" earlier. have a listen. >> in my mind, i'm thinking, as a 6-year-old, 7-year-old, what are your thoughts? and i'm thinking that i have to almost be their parent. like i have to tell them, so i said to them, i said i need you to know that i love you all very much. and that it's going to be okay. because i thought that was the last time they were ever going

to hear. i thought we were all going to die. you know, i don't know if that's okay. you know, teachers and, you know, i wanted them to know someone loved them and i wanted that to be one of the last things they heard, not the gunfire in the hallway. it is just so horrible. so horrible. >> incredibly emotional story. i'm joined by the haskins family, bob and his children, julia and bobby. bob, i want to ask you about a friend of yours who is a basketball coach here in town, who has two children attending sandy hook. one of those children was a first grader who witnessed something absolutely unbelievable. i want you to recount for me the story if you will. >> absolutely. just spoke to him an hour or so ago. his young son was in class, and the shooter broke into the classroom, front of his eyes gunned down the teacher, he was astute to take a couple of students and ran out the door behind the back of the shooter

and ran out of the school and continued to run for about a half a mile until he hit the main road. a stranger picked up the kids and took them to the newtown police department. unbeknownst to the parents, when they went to talk to the state troopers and parents, her son was unaccounted for. go door to door, look in the woods, and for an hour or so, they had no idea where their son was. they called the police department a couple of times, had no record of him being there and finally after about an hour and a half, they called and relieved to find out, indeed, their son had been dropped off at the police department safe and sound. >> but at that time, they must have thought the worst. >> they thought the worst. it was very, very difficult time for them. he said it was the worst hour and a half he's ever experienced in his life. >> police interviewed this first grader. i'm guessing he's 6, 7 years old. >> 6 years old. they interviewed him since he was there.

>> what did he tell them, what kind of detail? >> the interview, very elementary. they asked what he saw. described the shooter, his face, expression. they asked what was his recollection of the room. he said i saw a whole bunch of silver bullets on the floor of the classroom, when i got into the hall, i saw a whole bunch of bullets on the floor, and this weren't silver, they were red, unfortunately, covered with blood in the hallway. and at that point, he ran, sprinted out of the school. >> did he give a description any further about the shooter, the face, did he say anything? anything like that? >> he described what he looked like. but it's a very elementary city description because he's 6 years old. >> julia, you are -- have you a different story. you're in the middle school here in town. you went into lockdown right away as soon as this happened. >> yes. >> did you know what was

happening? everybody has cell phones and might have been text messages, did you know what was going on? >> no clue what was going on until the first hour. one of the my teachers said there was a shooting a mile down the road. >> do you have a classmate who had a little brother at the school? >> yes. the boy who i was sitting right next to during the lockdown, his little brother ended up dying. >> how did he find that out? >> i'm not exactly sure. i haven't talked to him yet today, during the lockdown, he didn't say anything. i didn't even know he had a little brother at sandy hook school until i just found out his brother had died. >> he hadn't been concerned at the time about finding out the fate of his little brother while he was in lockdown in your classroom? >> it didn't seem like it, no. >> bobby, you were in another school as well. hand this off to you. you were in another school, you went into lockdown. what was the experience for you? >> it was a little different.

we were in church at the time. friday school mass and monsignor wise came in, we need to end mass down and go to immediate lockdown. what happened, the teachers went around, locked all the doors and we sat in the pews and just waited and we could hear sirens for about an hour. >> did you like your sister eventually find out what was going on? >> yeah, we -- eventually went back to the school, and then my class was locked down in the basement, and our teachers told us that there had been a shooting and there were fatalities, but i didn't know the seriousness of it until my dad picked me up early from school, and on the car ride home, he told me there are quite a few fatalities? >> are you okay? >> we went to the vigil tonight at 7:00. it was very emotional. >> you are awfully young to digest this. none of us are handling this well. >> it didn't really sink in.

i was numb up until -- until the vigil and i think i kind of broke down at the vigil, because it was so sad to see everyone there and see -- they had actually 28 candles on the altar to represent the victims. >> at the vigil. and pass the mike to your dad. bob, an incredible moment at the vigil, there was a letter that was read from the pope. >> there was a letter that was wrote -- that was written by pope benedict to our community specifically, which was very touching. and very meaningful. it meant a great deal to the whole community, and on top of that, what was really emotional for us, monsignor wise, a wonderful pastor of our church talked about in his homily, the time he spent with the 20 families today, and in particular he mentioned two little angels being one of whom the mother of the victim said she went out recently and got her first commune dress, and the daughter was very, very excited

about that. and the other little angel was going to play an angel in our school play at st. rose next week. a very poignant story and very, very emotional for us to hear and digest. >> how is your friend? the basketball coach whose child went through this harrowing ordeal, how is he doing? >> i think best way to describe it, traumatized. a wonderful man, wonderful person, wonderful family, and although he's incredibly grateful, you know, that his son is safe, his heart is certainly bleeding for the other children in the classroom, because two of his son's classmates did perish in that saga that i told you, when the gunman came in. two of the little boys classmate's were killed today. >> and he witnessed. >> he witnessed it. >> he witnessed his own teacher being shot. thank you very much. and our hearts go out to all of you here. the nation is in mourning with

everybody here in newtown. i hope are you going to be okay. hug your kids tight. >> thank you. coming up next, the haskins family touched on the vigil and the very special message that came from halfway around the world. the governor was here, the senators were here. we'll give you a better feel for exactly what it was like inside the church, later on. ♪ [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the u.s. postal service the holidays are easy.

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this is a community of 27,000 people. newtown, connecticut, it is quiet, it is spacious. there are halcyon areas where trees stretch between houses, and yet it's still a close town and people know each other and they needed something, anything, to try to come together after the horrors that they were forced to endure today. the fact that so many of their children wiin this community wi no longer be with them. they gathered at a catholic chur church, st. rose of lima. you were there for the vigil tonight. jason carroll, it was standing

room only? >> beyond that. hundreds of people outside here, ashleigh, who couldn't get inside. they came out here, they wanted something, anything, leaning on each other and they leaned on their faith and they came out today, no question about it. spoke to a deacon here, explained it, and said when you have a community this close it should come as no surprise, hunsds hundreds of people out here, most people knew someone. if it wasn't a parent it was a child. if it wasn't a child, it was a teacher. if it wasn't a teacher, it was an administratoadministrator. they came for comforting words from monsignor robert wise. who read a letter from the pope. >> i conhave a my heartfelt grief and the assurance of my personal prayers to the victims and their families. to all of those and the community of newtown and especially the parish of st. rose of lima, in the aftermath

of the senseless tragedy, i ask god our father to console all of those who mourn, and to sustain the entire community with the spiritual strength which triumphs over violence with the power of forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love. >> and, ashleigh, one of the deacons at the church. he said throughout the day he had received almost 100 people who had come through church doors looking for somethicomfor looking for answers, many asking why. and i told them sometimes there are no answers, sometimes it's just too soon. maybe this is one that only god can answer. >> jason, one of the six adults killed was the school's principal, dawn hochsprung.

have you learned more about her? >> we are hearing so much about her. 47 years old. two daughters, three stepdaughters. she has been the principal at sandy hook since june 2010. constantly twittering, so proud of her school. twittering about fourth graders just this week. from all accounts, ashleigh, she was a woman who loved her school, loved her students, lovered her jobs, we talked about that close community, no surprise to find a man out here today, who knew her, knew her well. and he wants you to hear what he had to say about her. >> dawn, i had dinner with her last spring, she was exciting, exuberant, and a great educator. it's sad, they lost a leader today at sandy hook. my prayers will be, you know, for our community as well.

>> again, as you heard, lost a leader here, and dealing with this loss, dealing with the pain, dealing with the suffering, and this is what this community is going to cope with from this point on. for days, weeks, months, and certainly for the parents of those children, no saying how long they will be dealing with their grief. ashleigh. >> and so distressing, jason, to know that principal just this fall implemented a brand new security system where you had to get buzzed in at 9:30 in the morning, and yet this was perpetrated against her school. jason carroll, reporting live just across town from where i am. part of the reason i am where i am, is that the media is getting regular updates at this location, not only from the state police, but also from connecticut's governor dan malloy, who has come at regular intervals to brief us, but also

spoken with the families who were given the ultimate terrible news they would not be reuniting with their children. he made another stop at the vigil jason reported on. >> good evening, everyone. monsignor, thank you very much for opening this very beautiful church so that we might in a communal way find solace and one another as a result of the unspeakable having occurred in this community. people's children, brothers, sisters, were taken from them. people's spouses. those teachers and administrators, were taken from us. yet we stand in a church and many of us today, in the coming days, will rely upon that which

we have been taught and that which we inherently believe that there is faith for a reason and that faith itself is god's gift to all of you. and in these times of troubles and travails, when the unthinkable happens in our very midst, our faith is tested. not just in the religious sense, not just necessarily our faith in god, but our faith in community, in who we are, in what we collectively offer. and in so many ways, permissible to have those thoughts and those doubts about who we are, what we are, what community represents, but then we turn to understand as we turn around this room and recognize our friends and our

neighbors. those we have done things for, and those who have done things for us. this is a great and beautiful community located in a great and beautiful state in a great and beautiful nation. in the coming days, the coming weeks, i will pray that you all embrace one another. that you lift one another up. that you understand the difficulties that you collectively will undergo. keep in your prayers the children who last their lives today. keep in your prayers the adults who lost their lives today. and understand that a test is just that. that which we rise to and answer and respond to. in the coming days as many of us prepare to celebrate the birth of christ, understand that that to will bring sorrow as we think

about these instances that have happened so close to those days. but that too will pass and be overcome. and all of our prayers and the prayers and hopes of all of the public officials who have assembled today and in the presence of your great collect person, i bring and extend the entire condolences to you, members of this community. may god bless you. my god bless our children who are with us today and those who were taken away. and god bless the adults who lost their lives today. thank you. >> i wanted to share with you one of the more poignant stories that i learned today from a nurse named maureen. she wanted to volunteer. when she heard what was going on at the school, she and another nurse raced to the school to

help and found themselves surprised that there was nothing for them to do. sadly, they began to understand that there were no more survivors coming out of the school. they made their way to the fire station, a staging area for patients to be reunited with their kids, and, of course, it was a staging area where a lot of parents wouldn't be reunited with their children either. the sad story that she told me was the moment that, unfortunately, the authorities had to tell these parents that there were no more survivors. another witness, who was in the area said that the cries and the wails were overwhelming, that it was one of the more difficult things to have to undergo. two priests who were on the scene as well, at least two grief counselor there to try to handle what was going to happen with these approximately 50 people. you think about it, 20 kids, and they all have parents, so roughly 50 people had to endure

that terrible moment, when they were told they would likely never see their children again. coming up, a woman who works at a daycare here in town tells us that many of her daycare students had graduated to become students at sandy hook elementary. she'll talk to us in a moment. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery... my way. is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache.

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live in newtown, connecticut, tonight, in a story that overwhelmed many people as it began to unfold. a story we've often covered before. shots may have rung out at a school. but as details rolled in and the magnitude of this horror unfolded, it was astounding, the sheer numbers involved. here is how the day played out. we are following this report that there has been a shooting at an elementary school, elementary school named sandy hook. >> the intercom came on at the school, and she heard a scream, and a gunshot. two gunshots. >> troopers to the school and immediately upon

arrival began to the school and began a complete active shooters search of the building. >> they had to hide in the closet, and the children were very shaken, crying in the closet. >> i saw some of the bullets going past the hall, then a teacher pulled me into her classroom. >> the police came in. it's like is he in here? then he ran out, and our teacher, and somebody yelled get to a safe place. >> i heard the principal shot and killed. i heard -- i heard some kids were shot. a teacher, mrs. hammonds was shot. >> 18 children pronounced dead at the school. two transported to area hospitals and pronounced dead at area hospitals and six pronounced dead at the scene. >> we told a little boy about his sister, and it's so hard. he said i have nobody to play with now. but -- excuse me. >> the perpetrator of the crime is dead.

as is an individual who the perpetrator lived with. >> ryan lanza being taken into custody today in hoboken. ryan lanza not charges with anything today. at this point he is being questioned. >> there is a related scene that we discovered as we continued our criminal investigation. >> i ask god our forther to console those who mourn and sustain the entire community with the strength which triumphs over violence with the power of forgiveness, hope, and reconciling love. >> this was the second deadliest school shooting in american history. 20 young children lott lost thelost their lives, ages 5 to 10. the rest of the classmates were robbed of innocence after witnessing this tragedy, these parents will forever be

mourning. i want to introduce to you michelle babco. she used to work at a daycare and watched many of the children that were in the elementary school at the time of the shooting. how did you find out about the shooting? >> earlier this afternoon, i contacted a family and asked if the girls were okay. they were home safe and sound, but to pray for the ones that were very fortunaunfortunate. >> do you know if any of the kids who attended your daycare were victims of the rampage? >> all of them right now home safe and sound with their families. >> it must be an enormous relief? >> it was. to hear all of the kids i have kept in touch with all these years were home, yes. >> did you have a chance to talk to their parents or find out how they are doing? >> i did. i said they are very fortunate, home, and, you know, to pray for the ones that were not so fortunate in the shooting earlier today. and very, very happy that their little ones are home safe and

sound. >> you work at the daycare, the little explorers daycare. >> yes. >> are you closed? are you going to be able to keep working on monday? is anything changing in terms of your security measures? how will this affect you as you go forward, looking after your little ones? >> i worked there several years ago, but it is up and running as of today. >> it is running? >> it is. >> you also have a friend who is a teacher at the school. >> yes. i found out that she was injured earlier today and last time i spoke to the family that keeps in touch with her, she was still in the hospital. >> how was she injured? >> she was shot in the foot. >> do you know if she was in that meeting whereby the principal and the school psychologist were shot dead? there was a report that three of these teachers in the meeting had emerged into the hallway when the gunshots rang out and

only one came back and was injured in the foot or the leg and i'm trying to put together whether it might have been your friend? >> it might have been the same person, i'm uncertain of that. i know she was shot in the foot. >> how are you processing this? >> it's hard to hanel this, i had all of these kids since they were three. i keep in touch with the families and just very thankful that they are home on this holiday with their parents, but still praying for the ones that were injured. >> and newtown, such a beautiful and quiet community. everyone who goes through a tragedy says it would never occur that it would happen there. and it certainly doesn't occur that it would happen here. >> it could happen anywhere. it's small, quaint, and quiet, but it's unfortunate that it did happen. >> you and your neighbors going to be okay? >> yes, home with my parents. we'll be okay. >> thank you for talking with us. good luck to you as well. >> thank you.

>> thank you very much. i want to go back to my colleagues, drew griffin. a number of weapons that were recovered at the school. all of them. all three owned by the shooter's mother. registered. connecticut has some of the toughest gun laws on the books in this nation. now there are calls for even streng stricter gun control. and drew griffin has that part of the story as well. >> i can tell you, we know these guns were legally owned because of connecticut's very strict gun control laws. let me tell you what they are, ashleigh. the two handguns in the state of connecticut require a certificate of possession. a five-year license to obtain and own that weapon. it comes with the requirement you go through a training course. a handgun safety course. as for that assault rifle, if that is indeed an operating semi assault rifle. that gun is banned in connecticut, however, if the gun

was purchased and in the possession of the mother prior to october of 1993. that gun would have been grand fathered in to her possession. but that would have to be registered to her with the state as well. very strict gun laws in the state of connecticut. yes, these guns were all legally owned. >> and, drew, the shooter in this case, adam lanza, he had no criminal record, no one can find anything that he has done wrong. would that have factored into whether he would have greater access to certain guns in the state? >> being 20 years old, no way he could have purchased a handgun legally, certificate or not. he's too young. he could not have purchased that assault rifle because it's banned unless you have the

grandfather clause. legally speaking, he could not have owned these guns. we'll turn to the fact that they were in the mother's home. obviously accessible and how were they stored, did the mom know he he was using the guns, training the guns? we'll look at those types of issues. as for connecticut gun laws, ashleigh, to say that the kid could have gone out and bought these guns? the answer is, legally, no. >> a glock and sig sauer found on his person in the school after he apparently killed himself and then a bushmast bushmaster .223 found in the vehicle that he had apparently left erratically parked out in front of the school. drew griffin, thank you for looking into that. drew griffin reporting live. this particular school, not a large school, somewhat spread out.

sandy hook has a square formation, and the shooter took a certain path through the school. but as they said, the officials said, he wasn't running through the halls and shooting. he was very specific about where he targeted. have a look at how tom foreman lays this out for us. >> 9:30, a normal start to the day. approximately 600 students in class, 50 faculty members. we don't have a complete read on the layout of the school or the timeline, we'll try and piece together all day long as investigators have. some idea. day getting underway, a meeting happening up here involving the principal, vice principal, a school psychologist and several other adults in this area, then around 9:40, best we can tell from witnesses, just ten minutes later, the gunman enters the build. how did he do it? the new security system, not

sure how he got past that or if it was locked up at that point. police looked very hard at a car parked in the fire lane. still there surrounded by tape as best i can tell. suggested would be that somehow the gunman came right through the front door, into the school. and people throughout this building reported and one fire. 9:41, that's when the calls started coming in to 911. the principal, the vice princip principal, and the school psychologist, according to witnesses, went out to the hall and toward the gun if fire to see what was happening. shouting, many shoutings and shots. he came back into the meeting room wounded. all of the shooting happened in a relatively short period of time and the gunman did not roam around, but generally stayed in just two rooms and a hallway right up

in here, that's, in fact, where they ultimately found him. 9:45, teachers trying to protect students all throughout the school. some around the gym mass yum were told to hide in close elts. others led outside to flee. not really clear if that happened with teachers or later helped out by law enforcement officials. we know there was a real effort throughout the school to get the kids to some sort of safety. this picture from the newtown bee. and all of the teachers try to do something about it. they didn't know what was going on. it's unclear, at what point in this process the gunman died. they found himself dead in one of the the rooms there. the suggestion? probably he killed himself. more details as we go on. we know that law enforcement agents arrived at the school,

they set up a perimeter of state and local police. they entered immediately to secure rooms to find students and make sure if a gunman was still active, they got him under control. then they quickly started leading students away from the school, trying to get them out of safety. a horrendous event. very difficult even for the officers involved. they had to tell many of the children, avert your eyes, close your eyes. they knew they would lead them right past many of the victims. >> oh, tom. such a difficult detail to listen to, that the children had to avert their eyes as they escaped the school. you know, it is not often that the president of the united states sheds a tear in public, and today it happened. you'll see the president's moving tribute to the victims, after the break. this evening michelle and i will do what i know everyone

parent in america will do. which is hug our children a little tighter and tell them that we love them, and we'll remind each other how deeply we love one another. there are families in connecticut that cannot do that tonight. and they need all of us right now. and our days to come, that community needs to us be at our best as americans, and i will do everything in my power as president to help.

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for much of the day, so much confusion about who the shooter who perpetrated this terrible act here in newtown, connecticut, was. there was confusion, because he was using i.d. that didn't belong to him. it belonged to his brother. a brother who is in hoboken, connecticut. and that confusion led police right to that brother's front door. he's been arrested now as well. and john berman has details how that played out. >> ashleigh, this street where i'm stanning has been the sight of a huge amount of activity today, and a nihigh number of questions. behind me? the apartment brother where the brother of the shooter lives.

ryan lanza. led to a car in handcuffs. taken into custody for questioning. also questioned according to sources telling cnn, two roommates of the brother who lives here, believed to have no connection at all to the suspect. this building behind me, a five-story building with two- and three-bedroom apartments, on the street, hoboken police, jersey city police, bomb squad representatives, although they didn't go into the apartment building, and the fbi had a presence here. the fbi did remove materials from this apartment, including some kind of computer. there are questions about why the brother was taken into custody at all, especially in handcuffs. one police officer on the scene did tell me, apparently some kind of confusion that the brother's i.d. may have been found on the shooter's body. that was one police officer

telling me that, we're not currently confirming if ryan lanza is still in custody. is the brother of the shooting suspect in custody. and the son of a woman killed today. ashleigh. >> john berman reporting from hoboke hoboken, connecticut. and the lanza's father also question. they aren't suspects, but they have been extensively questioned. it's not often you see a president in tears, but it wasn't but a few hours this news hit the president's desk pretty quickly. he took to the air waives to offer comfort and support to the families of the victims in newtown, connecticut. here is the address he made today. >> this afternoon, i spoke with dane

dan malloy and fbi director robert mueller. i made it clear he will have every resource he needs to investigate the heinous crime, care for the victims, council their families. we have endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. each time i hear the news, i react not as a president, but as anybody else would, as a parent and that was especially true today. i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.

they had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. so our hearts are broken today. for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost, our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well. for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain. as a country, we have been through this too many times. whether it's an elementary

school in newtown or a shopping mall in oregon, or a temple in wisconsin, or a movie threater in aurora, or a street corner in chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. and we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics. this evening, michelle and i will do what i know every parent in america will do, hug our children a little tighter. and we'll tell them that we love them. and we'll remind each other how deeply we love one another. but there are families in connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. and in our days to come, that community needs us to be at our best asamericans and i will do everything in my power as president to help. because while nothing can fill

the space of the lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endurings not just in their memories, but also in ours. may god bless the memories of the victims. and in the words of scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. >> we are indeed a nation in mourning tonight and it is known across the world what happened in america, in newtown, connecticut. there has been reaction from world leaders who have written, who have made statements about this tragedy, and then there is the reaction from people, people from all corners of the world, who now have social media to let

us know, to let their friends know, to let everyone know about what's happened. josh levin with all of the reaction on twitter. >> people all over the world are expressing their horror and sorrow about what happened. this is part of the story. the global action. this area where you see that is on social media especially. some of the tweets getting a lot of attention, one from mayor mike bloomberg in new york. my deepest sympathies with families are affected and my determination to stop this mad science stronger than ever. let's jump across the pond to david cameron. prime minister of britain. my thoughts are with those who have been devastated by the connecticut shootings. the death of so many children is truly heartbreaking. now, this one is very interesting. deepak chopra says he's observing silence on twitter and facebook for a period in

remembrance of those that have been killed. it's an interesting idea. we'll see if it catches on. talking to you across all platforms. the real tragedy, we keep letting this kind of thing happen over and over and over again. another one, hold your children tight and thank the lord for them. absolutely. i am doing that. and i know many of you are as well. the facebook page for the school is getting a pretty good amount of attention as well. people posting messages there. and we have an assignment and ireport to express condolences, thoughts for the victims and the community. >> josh, live on the twitter reaction. as we leave you tonight, there is a very large project that lies ahead for the investigators, for the police, for the responders here. this was such a massive crime scene that the processing of it alone is going to take at least